Research, Society, Students, and Family

My specialization is phonetics and linguistics, but people outside the field often think, "I have no idea what kind of research you're doing." My colleagues might get angry at me for saying this, but I don't think the appeal from within the academic community to society is sufficient. With that awareness, I conduct research, education, and outreach activities under the motto, "Linguists, let's go outside!"

Under this banner, and under the guidance of my 4-year-old daughter, I analyzed the names of Pretty Cure characters. In "Fresh Pretty Cure!", characters named "Peach" and "Berry" appear. If you feel how your lips move when pronouncing the beginning of these names, you will notice that both the lips close for both "Pi" and "Be." In "Maho Girls PreCure!", there are "Magical" and "Felice." For "Ma," both lips close, and for "Fe," both lips round. These kinds of sounds are called "bilabial sounds." When analyzed systematically, the probability of Pretty Cure names starting with a bilabial sound is statistically high. Furthermore, bilabial sounds are sounds that babies often make, and my younger daughter, who is nine months old, is currently practicing them enthusiastically. In other words, the connection is "bilabial sounds = baby = cute = Pretty Cure." I am grateful to my daughter for teaching me all about Pretty Cure.

I also analyzed the names of Pokémon. Voiced consonants give an impression of being "heavy." A student told me, "In Pokémon, the weight of each individual is fixed." If so, let's analyze the correlation between the number of voiced consonants in a name and its weight! As a result, a statistically positive correlation was found. This discovery spread worldwide immediately after its announcement, and now Pokémon names are being researched in various languages such as English. An international conference was even held at Keio. I wonder if analyzing familiar subjects helps more people understand linguistics?

One more point regarding the relationship between academia and society. Patients with intractable neurological diseases such as ALS lose their voices as their condition progresses. I am helping with a project called "My Voice," where voices are recorded beforehand so that sentences entered into a computer can be played back in the person's own voice. When I introduced this in class, a student suggested, "Wouldn't communication be smoother if there were stickers to use on social media?" Thanks to that, a sticker function has now been implemented. Some students even drew copyright-free stickers for us.

In every case, ideas unique to young people have advanced the field of study. Professors also learn a great deal from their students and children.